


The Age of Chloe

by NoahK



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, and also am sorry for future reference, and it is wonderful, bechloe - Freeform, meets pitch perfect, the age of adaline - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-07-11 11:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7046872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoahK/pseuds/NoahK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucille Karina Belakov was born on January 1st 1908. Many years later she would begin a family of her own. On a cold winter night in 1935, Lucille’s life would change forever. <br/>In that moment something incredible happened. It’s effect was almost magical. Lucille Belakov will henceforth be immune to the ravages of time. She will never age another day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This story is loosely (very loosely) based on the movie The Age of Adaline. I say loosely because many plot points have been altered entirely to fit this story. It is an alternate universe bechloe fic so y’all better buckle up for this one (the double reference here is killing me)

Lucille Karina Belakov was born on January 1st 1908. Many years later she would begin a family of her own. Her son, Albert (Albie) Belakov, was born in 1930 and not even a year later her husband died in a tragic accident. On a cold winter night in 1935, Lucille’s life would change forever. Due to the freak winter storm the roads were icier than she was used to driving on ultimately making the car spin out of control and into the ravine. Lucille died that day in the freezing cold water...but then the lightning struck the surface. In that moment something incredible happened. It’s effect was almost magical. Lucille Belakov will henceforth be immune to the ravages of time. She will never age another day. 


	2. The Start of It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> December 31st, 1950

_December 31st, 1950_

 

Lucy is rushing around to get her things together before her son comes home from work. She knows that seeing her packing up her very few belongings is what would upset him the most so it was better to get it taken care of before he was here. After many years of planning the day that it all starts has finally come around. It was for her own good and for Albie’s own good as well. She couldn’t live a normal life here anymore. People were getting suspicious...very suspicious. And they were asking questions about her appearance and were very skeptical to say the least. After all her son is 20 years old and she still looks 29 years old of course it’s going to raise unwanted attention.

“Ma, I’m home,” a young man calls from the front door.

“Good. Let’s have dinner then,” she replies calmly after taking a deep breath. “I have something to talk to you about.”

“You’re leaving?”

“What?”

“You’re leaving,” Albie repeats from the doorway. “Your stuff is packed in the car. I saw it on my way in.”

“Right,” Lucy mumbles before turning her attention back to serving dinner out onto the two plates she had set up. “I am leaving but it’s for the best.”

“What is your plan?” her son asks obviously curious but his tone was bordering on upset and she could see right through it.

“I have it all worked out. The plan is to go up to San Francisco first, hide out there for a few years under a different name. Meet with my bank connection up there and get into some investing. And when it’s safe to I will return but,” she stops for a moment playing with her fork.

“But?”

“The next time we see each other I will have another identity. I will always be your mother. And you’ll always be my son,” Lucy chokes out through tears. She looks up to her son and sees his own tears streaming down his face. “It has to be this way, Albie.”

“I know,” Albert mumbles. “It doesn’t make it any easier.”

“It doesn’t,” Lucy agrees. “I will mail you a letter once I am settled. It’s going to be a difficult situation from here on out but we can make it work, okay?”

“Okay, Mama,” Albie nods his head in acknowledgment. “Now let’s at least enjoy dinner together tonight.”

 --

Albie looks over his mother’s new identification cards after dinner and has to admit that she is a very smart woman with some amazing connections. She explains that she found some people who make forgeries and paid them a great deal of money to ensure that they were done correctly. And they really had done a believable job. For the next 5-10 years Lucille Belakov would be known as Maggie Jenkins and be living in the San Francisco area when she isn’t traveling elsewhere.

\-- 

“I love you, son,” she whispers into his ear with a hug.

“I love you, Mama,” he says with a crack of his voice. “Send me a letter as soon as you are settled. I’ll miss you.”

“And I’ll miss you my baby boy,” she says with a sad smile before turning away towards her car. And with one final look at her small home in Garden Grove, California she pulled out of the driveway and hit the road for the first time but nowhere near the last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bare with me dudes while I set down the beginning of the story it IS going to get better and longer I promise


	3. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Names, names, names

Maggie spends the next 6 years based in San Francisco but constantly taking long trips to various other states nearby. She spends a few months in Seattle and Portland and even a month in Las Vegas for the hell of it. The one consistent thing she does is spend every New Year’s Day on the phone with Albie in celebration of her birthday. They have seen each other once a year ever since she left and spends the rest of the year in solitude. 

Her investments begin to pay off and she starts paying closer attention to the stock market. She invests in almost anything that her banker says might take years before she gets profit because honestly what’s a couple years to her? Maggie invests in cameras long before they become commercialized and sees profit within a few years. She’s smart about what she invests in and sees profit in so many different new products every year. 

In 1957, she gets into a bit of trouble with the law when she gets pulled over for speeding and is forced into hiding again simply because they do not believe the age that her license claims she is. And, boy, if only they knew the real truth. Clearly living her life as Maggie has come to an end. 

\--

“So, Sarah now, is it?” Albie laughs over the phone. 

“Yes,” she joins in his laughter. “Sarah Larson.”

“My long lost cousin! So good to meet you.”

“You as well, Albert. How’s the girlfriend going?” she asks changing the subject. 

“Ah, Ma. You can always see right through me. We called it off last week,” Albie responds. “Nothing too big. We just weren’t going to work out.”

“Always do and always will. I’m sorry, Albie. There are plenty of fish in the sea though,” she says with a smile. 

“That applies to you as well then,” he replies and instantly knows he shouldn’t have gone there again. Relationships are a touchy subject with his mother. 

“You know that it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to date,” she scolds. “I have to run the dog needs to be let out and I have to start unpacking.”

“Okay. Talk to you next week. Goodbye Mama. I hope you are enjoying life in Phoenix.” 

\--

From her first name change in 1950 all the way up to her second to last name change in 2007 she can honestly say that none of those names ever felt quite right to her. Like she was truly putting up a facade that she never could escape and she was growing tired of it. She really, truly wanted a name that could feel like her again. Maybe then she would really start to live her life like her son has been trying to tell her for so many years. 

“Albie,” she shouts into the phone. “I want a name that’s really  _ mine _ .”

“What good will that do?” Albert croaks from the other end of the line. 

“I think it’s time for a good change, Albert. I think that if I have a name that’s really me then I’ll be able to really live or at least try to,” she explains. 

“Mama! You’re finally going to date again,” he yells clearly excited. 

“Calm down, Al. No need to give yourself another heart attack,” she insists but the smile is still on her face. She still loves to see her son so excited like a little boy again. “I’m not going to date again.”

“Why not?  Don’t you miss having someone to love?” her son asks.

“It’s not the same, honey. There’s no growing old together and without that love is just...heartbreak,” she admits. “I don’t think I could put myself through that.”

“I think it’s worth it,” he replies still giddy. “You deserve to love again. To truly love again.” 

“Albie,” his mother scolded gently.

“Sorry,” Albert mumbles. “I’ll leave you to unpack then. LA, right?”

“Yes, I’m in LA now.”

“Less than an hour from me,” he replies happily. “I’ll get to see you more.”

“You will, honey. You will. Now go rest, dear. You need it,” she replied calmly. 

“Make sure you tell me your new name. Make it one that’s going to stick this time. Maybe bring it back to the Belikov roots again.”

“Of course. Goodnight, Albie,” she said, her mind instantly drifting back to her name. 

“Goodnight, Mama.”

Belikov. It would be nice to get back to the Russian roots of her ancestry again but taking the same name would be too risky. But maybe she could find something pretty close to it that she liked just as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so from here on out things are about to get interesting...
> 
> find me on tumblr... noahsthetic


	4. You Again

“Mama, don’t worry about me. I can manage myself for the night. For once I think you should go out and have some fun leading up to your birthday. Have a proper celebration,” Albie insisted over the phone. “Don’t let me hold you back. And besides I’ll see you tomorrow like always.”

“Oh Albie.”

“Don’t ‘oh Albie’ me. Just go have fun on New Year’s Eve for once in your life and take advantage of an opportunity set before you. Go enjoy that party,” Albie responded forcefully.

\--

It seemed pretty simple at first. She’d show up and drink a little. Make some small talk as she made her way around the room. Tell the new story and move onto someone else. All with the hopes of leaving before midnight. Simple right?

Wrong. Because she was running late for starters and didn’t get to the party until almost 10pm. When she finally did get there she couldn’t seem to find the drinks for a considerable amount of time and by then she had a horrible feeling that she was being watched. Anytime she’d look around the room she found people heavily immersed in conversations and not even looking her direction. So she tried to ignore the niggling feeling in the back of her brain that thought she was being watched and instead started to make small talk with some of the guests.

After nearly fifteen minutes talking to the same person she moved on to another couple that she was intrigued by due in part to the assumed husband’s camera hanging at his side. When she started talking to this couple she saw a glimpse of a girl in a black dress peaking around the corner from the other room. She couldn’t help but smile at her shyness which only made her recoil and disappear from her line of view entirely.

Again she saw the girl when she was getting a drink from the bar. And again when she was getting dessert. Instantly she realized that his feeling of her being watched was most likely from this shy brunette she keeps catching glimpses of everywhere she goes. Now that she knows just who is watching her she’s far more at ease and continues to go about her business.

“What about you? Have you travelled any?” the middle aged man asked snapping her out of her trance.

“Not very much I’m afraid. Maybe one day. Excuse me though I need to go say hello to someone,” she replied quickly and sped off in the other direction without waiting for a reply. She knows it was incredibly rude but she just found the perfect opportunity to sneak up on the brunette that’s been keeping tabs on her all night.

“It’s rude to stare, you know,” she says from behind the brunette. The other woman instantly whips around and continues to stare.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll just be going then.”

“What’s your name?”

“Beca,” she answers hesitantly. “And you?”

“Chloe Beale,” she says with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Chloe Beale,” Beca says slowly.

“As much as I would love to talk more it is almost midnight and I must go,” Chloe responds.

“So, you’re just going to come scare the crap out of me and introduce yourself just to leave a minute later?”

“Sounds about right,” Chloe giggles.

“Dude,” Beca calls even as the other girl is making her way across the room. After a moment battling with herself she quickly runs after the mysterious and beautiful Chloe Beale. “Chloe!”

“You’re faster than you look,” Chloe observes once she reaches the chilly night air, an out of breath Beca not too far behind her. “Did you seriously run down ten flights of stairs?”

“I - I would never,” Beca chokes out between deep breaths.

“The joys of being young.”

“Seriously? You can’t be too much older than I am,” Beca says.

“I think you’d be surprised,” Chloe chuckles.

“I’d say you look about 26 but if you’re saying that then maybe you’re closer to 29 but no older, I’m sure of it,” Beca says confidently. “You didn’t drive here, did you?”

“Of course not. Did you run down here just to ask me how I’m getting home?” Chloe asks with a squint of her eyes. She truly is perplexed by the younger girl.

“And to ask you if you’re a natural redhead,” Beca smiles obviously pleased with herself. Chloe instantly starts laughing in response.

“No, I’m not,” Chloe finally says. “Is that all?”

“Um,” Beca stops biting her lip for a moment. “I was wondering if we could meet up again. Get coffee or go for a walk or something?”

“How old fashioned of you. I’m sorry but I’m leaving town soon,” Chloe says, instantly Beca’s face falls.

“Before then?”

“I don’t think I will have any time.”

“Are you sure?” Beca asks, still hopeful.

“Sorry to disappoint. My taxi is here but it was nice to meet you. Happy New Year,” Chloe says as her goodbye before making her way to her taxi.

“Happy New Year,” Beca says. The younger girl watches as the taxi drives away and doesn’t return to the party until it is entirely out of sight.

Once she gets back to the party she sets out to talk to every single person she saw Chloe conversing with in hopes of finding out something more about this mysterious woman. She simply refused to give up hope and was determined to find her.

The first hour of 2012 turns out to be a very lucky hour for one Beca Mitchell. She was able to find out plenty of menial information about one, Chloe Beale and it might just be enough to find her.

\--

“Happy Birthday Mama,” Albie whispers into Chloe’s ear with a hug upon entering the nearby diner.

“It’s good to see you, Albie. Let’s sit,” Chloe motions towards a distant booth that already had hot chocolate ready for them. “How was your bus ride?”  
“Not too bad,” Albie says.

“How are things in Garden Grove?”

“I’m thinking about moving,” Albie responds abruptly.

“What? Why? You love it there.”

“Too many stairs. Unlike some of us, I won’t be young forever. Just last week Kay Alfonso fell and broke her hip. The doctors say she may never leave the hospital again. Just like that and she’s done,” he responds.

“A few more years and you can move in with me,” Chloe says. “I’ll be able to take care of you.”

“I don’t know. My friend just moved out to a senior community in Arizona and says that he’s never been happier.”

“That’s so far,” Chloe comments. “I’d hate for you to get stuck there. Or worse, get sick and I can’t get to you in time.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Albie drifts off. “Maybe it’s best for me to stay. Wait it out until I can move in with you.”

“Okay. It’s in just a few years time, Albert.”

“I know,” Albie says with a smile. “So, Chloe Beale, how’s life?”

“Well. I definitely feel far more at home now,” Chloe responds with a genuine smile.

“You look it. And, hey, you’re a ginger now. Ginger’s seem to have far more fun not like blonde’s like the others say. It’s definitely the redheads that have more fun,” Albie chuckles.

“I think you’re right about that,” Chloe says joining in on his laughter. 

\--

“What’s all this about?” Chloe asks as she makes her way into the library that she’s been working at for the past few months.

“Major news,” Lory exclaims from behind the counter. “Ms. Mitchell is donating $50,000 worth of first edition classics to this library.”

“Do you know what books?”

“We’ll find out real soon. Her office called and said that she’d come around to personally deliver them,” Kayla, her other coworker, jumps in. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Chloe says as she makes herself comfortable at her chair. “Definitely curious about what books though.”

“I think you’ll be quite pleased with what you find in here,” a familiar voice butts in followed by a bang on the counter. “Sorry. They’re quite heavy.”

“Ms. Mitchell! On behalf of the library we want to say thank you for this wonderful donation,” Lory says with a smile.

“Please, call me Beca. And it’s my pleasure. I don’t put them to nearly enough use as they deserve,” Beca says with a smile. She looks over to Chloe who has yet to say a word.

“Chloe? Do you want to review the inventory before Beca goes on her way?”

“I suppose,” Chloe says getting up from her chair. “Come this way with those boxes. We’ll go to one of the study rooms.”

“Can you, like, help with one of the boxes? I nearly dropped them on the way in,” Beca questions as she struggles to even get them back off the desk.

“Fine,” Chloe grumbles grabbing the top box with ease and leading the younger girl away. “How did you find me?”

“Wow, you really don’t waste time getting to the point,” Beca says as she closes the door. “I just happened to be looking for a place to donate these and your name also just so happened to pop up in reference to this library. Which also happens to be closest to my apartment.”

“Right. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt with that one,” Chloe responds seemingly seeing through Beca’s slight lies. “Now, let’s see what we’ve got here.”

“Daisy Miller by Henry James. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. White Oleander by Janet Fitch,” Beca starts to list off the names of the books as she places them before Chloe. When her facial features remain unchanged she continues to go through them until the redhead finally speaks.

“Clever.”

“What?”

“You’re a clever girl. Coincidentally needing to donate a series of books not to mention first editions. Who are you?”

“Just some girl with a large collection of books that were going untouched,” she responds plainly. When Chloe looks completely unamused by this and clearly waiting for her to say more she decides to continue. “My dad’s a literature professor and has been collecting books like these for ages. He passed on a bunch of them to me when I asked for them and he said to put them to good use...so here I am.”

“Is he going to be pleased when he finds out you donated them?”

“He’ll be fine. I read them all and I mentioned donating them a time or two and he wasn’t totally opposed to that idea,” Beca blurts out quickly.

“You’ve read them all?”

“Oh, I said that. Didn’t I?” Beca questions, mostly to herself. “I had my fair share of free time when I first moved out to LA. So, yeah, I’ve read them all.”

“What do you do, Beca?”

“I’m in the music industry,” Beca says. “Now, will you reconsider meeting with me again?”  
“The library wants some pictures of you donating these books. Is that something you’re up for?” Chloe asks completely ignoring Beca’s questions.

“Yeah, for sure.”

“Let’s get to that then,” Chloe responds motioning towards the door. “I’ll take these few books as examples and we’ll have you pose with them by the main library sign giving them to one of the staff. Pictures like that.”

“I want you to be receiving them on behalf of the library,” Beca requests.

“Oh, no no. I don’t want my photo taken.”

“Please? You look stunning,” Beca says with a shy smile.

“It’s not about vanity,” Chloe responds. “I just don’t want my photo taken.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll just be going with my books then.”

“What?”

“If you won’t be in the picture then I won’t be donating these books,” Beca responds simply.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Chloe mumbles.

“I would,” Beca chuckles. “I’ll have my own personal book burning day.”

“I just... I don’t like having my picture taken, Beca,” Chloe cuts in.

“Okay, fine. Here’s the alternative. Let me take you out tomorrow,” Beca says simply.

“Okay... that’s impossible.”

“Then I’ll just pack up these books and go.”

“Where would you take me?” Chloe asks quietly.

“Some place you’ve never been before,” Beca announces with a smile.

“If it’s somewhere in this city then that’s highly unlikely.”

“Let’s just see about that.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal is to give you guys an update at least once (preferably twice) a week. I encourage you to message me and make me stick to that haha 
> 
> find me on tumblr noahsthetic.tumblr.com


	5. The Smell

“Mama’s going on a daaaate,” Albie sing songs in reaction to Chloe telling him what happened.

“Still a child at heart, I see,” Chloe notes.

“Could say the same for yourself,” Albie chuckles. “I’m so happy for you. You have to tell me everything about this date tomorrow.”

“You know I will. I don’t have very high expectations though,” Chloe says quietly. “It’s a Wednesday what interesting thing could she possibly bring me to in the middle of the week.”

“Some of the most extraordinary things happen in the midst of a busy working week,” Albie replies, his voice distant. “Something amazing can happen during what seems to be such a mundane week. And that is what makes it so special.”

 --

**Beca (10:02 am):** All set for tonight?

 

Chloe couldn’t help but smile when she got the text from Beca that morning partially because Beca did not seem like the early morning type. By no means is she saying that 10 am is early but it seemed early for someone like Beca Mitchell. And there’s something about the wording that in all of Chloe’s years seems to come off as hesitant, almost as if Chloe was going to cancel on her which she doesn’t blame the girl for thinking. She won’t even lie when she says that the idea crossed her mind more than a few times but Albie insisted and honestly...she can’t deny him the satisfaction of seeing this out.

 

**Chloe (10:18 am):** Of course. Are you picking me up or am I meeting you somewhere?

**Beca (10:20 am):** I’ll pick you up at 6. Just send me your address

 

To be honest Beca wasn’t too sure why she was nervous. Beca doesn’t really do the whole ‘nervous’ thing anymore. The last time she felt anywhere remotely close to this was the day that she played her first demo to someone that mattered and that was over two years ago. Since then she has gained the confidence she always dreamt of having but never thought she would actually attain. Beca decides to chalk her nerves up to the fact that she’s exposing a part of herself that she usually never exposed to new people. It’s something about herself that most of her friends waited years to see and certainly no potential partners had seen this side of her either. She was excited nonetheless because she had a good feeling about this one.

\--

As 6 pm neared Chloe found herself getting progressively more nervous and hesitant to go out with the younger girl. This would be going against many of the rules that she set for herself and while she was used to having some fun here and there something about this didn’t seem like any of those other times. Something just felt very different about it and no matter how much Chloe thought about it she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was that made this so different. Before she could convince herself to cancel at the last minute her doorbell is ringing.

“Hey,” Chloe greets opening the door just enough for her to slip through. “So, where are you taking me?”

“That would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?”

“Perhaps. I’m sure it’s somewhere I’ve been before,” Chloe comments her tone mildly harsh, enough so that Beca pulls back a little.

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” Beca replies finally. “I’ve never seen you there before and for some reason I have a feeling it’s not somewhere you would usually seek out.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to wait and see. Just tell me if I was wrong after,” Beca says once they’ve settled in her car. “Music?”

“Of course,” Chloe chuckles, taking over the radio as Beca pulls back onto the main road.

When Beca pulls into a sketchy looking lot in the middle of Downtown LA she’s a bit taken aback because if she didn’t know better she would think that she was about to be killed. It definitely wasn’t the type of place that Chloe would really think of going in her free time but she could tell Beca frequented this area when she happily jumps out of her car. Chloe watches in bewilderment as the younger girl greets a man taking the trash out the back of his restaurant before eventually climbing out of her car as well. She takes a good look around and can honestly say that she doesn’t see anything worth seeing. She has absolutely no idea what she has gotten herself into or where exactly they are supposed to be going.

“So, what do you think?”

“I think that you’re a little crazy. Why are we in the middle of a parking lot next to an alley?” Chloe asks as she leans against the other girl’s car awaiting her cue.

“Well we’re a little early. If you want we can go around the corner and get a drink? If you do drink that is,” Beca offers with a smile.

“I think I could do with a drink.”

“Are you still not going to tell me exactly where it is we’re going?” Chloe asks once they’ve found the sidewalk. Beca is leading at this point because even in all of Chloe’s years in LA she’s never really walked around this area so freely.

“Nope,” Beca pops with a smirk. “But I can tell you that it’s karaoke night at La Costena.”

“La Costena?” Chloe questions.

Beca’s response is a simple point towards the sign of the bar they were about to enter. It was a quaint little bar that had CD’s dangling from the ceiling and even a bunch of them pasted to the ceiling as well. The giant pick letters spelling out “Fiesta” catch Chloe’s eye and she chuckles at the sight of them. She’s looking around appreciating the assorted decor while Beca orders two tequila shots for them.

“Quite a bold decision, Mitchell,” Chloe notes as she takes her shot glass in one hand and a sliver of lime in the other.

“You seem like a tequila kind of girl. Am I wrong?”

“Definitely not wrong,” Chloe replies before taking the shot like a pro.

“Ah, so you’ve done this before I see,” Beca jokes.

“So have you,” Chloe notes after Beca has taken the shot, still sucking on the lime.

“Takes me back to college,” Beca says with a laugh that the other girl easily joins in on. “Now that we’ve killed some time I think it’s time to head back to the alley.”

“To the alley?”

“Yes. That’s where the entrance is. Come on,” Beca says grabbing Chloe’s hand and leading her out of the bar.

Chloe let herself be led back to the sketchy alley and followed a pace behind Beca as she walked down the alley. She looked around and while she didn’t see anything that looked familiar or like it was something to do she still trusted Beca. She just hoped she wasn’t wrong because being killed in an alley wasn’t exactly the way she wanted to end her life.

“Mitchell!” A man’s voice calls as he ducks his head around the corner of a brick building. “Good to see you again.”

“You know I’d never miss my faves, Luke,” Beca yells back.

“Who have you got here?” Luke asks once they’re closer.

“This is Chloe. Chloe, Luke. Now that’s all sorted. Here’s your $10,” Beca says passing over the cash. “Have a good night doorman.”

“You love to tease,” he calls back as Beca continues to pull Chloe into the dark room. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Chloe says with a wave as she lets the other girl drag her into the room.

As she makes their way in immediately her ears start to fill with sounds that she vaguely recognizes as music of some kind. Beca leads her to a corner where there isn’t a lot of people and just smiles at her for a second before moving to talk into her ear now that the room is entirely filled with music.

“Welcome to The Smell,” Beca yells over the music.

“The Smell?”

“You got it. Best underground music in LA and usually affordable too,” Beca says, a smile beaming on her face.

“Your favorite band is playing tonight? Is this them?” Chloe asks.

“Oh, hell no. These guys are just the first act. We’re really here to see Foliage and Acid Ghost. Their music is hella good especially Acid Ghost. They’re my favorite by far,” Beca explains.

“I think the tequila is doing it’s job. Do you wanna get up closer, pretend to be young and carefree again?”

“You know it,” Beca nods her head in agreement, leading the redhead out into the mass of mostly younger concert goers. They start bopping along to some of the music that plays from the first act but Chloe mostly spends her time looking at Beca who is clearly anxiously anticipating the following acts.

“Foliage is next?” Chloe asks after the applause for the first band dies down.

“Yeah,” Beca nods her head, “They’re pretty good.”

“Not as good as Acid Ghost?”

“You’ll just have to wait and listen for yourself,” Beca replies pointing towards the group of young guys now setting up their equipment. “Do you want to walk around and look at the art?”

“Sure,” Chloe agrees following Beca as she leads them out of the crowd.

Beca takes her time pointing out some of the cool murals around the building making an odd comment here and there about the artist that did them. As she does this Chloe realizes that Beca must be in the art industry in one way or another. That or she’s just really passionate about it and gave up her dreams to take up some realistic day job but something about her doesn’t give off as the type to give something up like that. She seems far too stubborn for that.

“So which one is yours then?” Chloe asks suddenly, instantly the other girl turns bright red.

“What?”

“Which one of these works of art is yours? Personally, I think it’s that mostly blue one you showed me a couple minutes ago,” Chloe notes pointing towards where that artwork was hanging on the wall.

“How did you know?”

“I took a guess. There’s something in the way that you talk about these pieces that gives you away. It doesn’t help that the doorman, Luke, knows you by name and well enough to joke around with each other,” Chloe observes simply.

“I guess that’s true. Yeah, that blue one back there is mine and I’m set to do a mural when we move location,” Beca admits with a shy smile.

“We?”

“I should probably elaborate,” Beca says before quickly rambling the story out. “The Smell works on an all volunteer basis. I happen to be one of the regular volunteers and have been for the past five or so years.”

“That’s really cool,” Chloe says.

“Thanks,” Beca mumbles.

“So, Beca. How old are you anyway?” Chloe asks bluntly.

“That’s rude to ask you know,” Beca laughs for a moment. “I’m 26. You?”

“Didn’t you just say that it was rude to ask a woman her age?”  
“Now now. You started this,” Beca chuckles.

“I think your favorite band is setting up,” Chloe comments with a glance towards the makeshift stage area.

“They are but we can wait until I get this answer,” Beca says calmly.

“If you must know I’m 29,” Chloe finally says, watching the satisfaction set on the other girl’s face. “Now let’s go see just how good this favorite band of yours is.”

 --

“Okay, okay. I have to admit I had never been there before or really anywhere like it,” Chloe confesses as they’re walking down the alley back to Beca’s car and goofing around. “Thank you for bringing me there.”

“It was my pleasure,” Beca replies with a falsely straight face. The second she finishes her sentence she winds up bursting out into laughter.

“Were you imitating me?” Chloe questions in fake disbelief.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Are you sure you’re 26?” Chloe jokes with a playful shove.

“Totally sure,” Beca replies once her laughter has subsided.

“Why were you so persistent on going out with me?” Chloe asks entirely out of the blue.

“This is going to sound totally crazy,” Beca drifts off not continuing until she’s leaning back against her car. “The first time I saw you I knew I had to meet you. And I didn’t know when or how but I knew I would.”

“You’re right. That does sound totally crazy,” Chloe says with a small smile. “A good kind of crazy, Becs, don’t worry.”

“Okay good,” Beca mumbles feeling only slightly reassured. “So, will you go out with me again?”

“Perhaps,” Chloe whispers leaning onto the car next to the younger girl, just close enough that their arms brush together.

“Am I going to have to track you down again? Because you’ve made that a whole lot easier now that I know where you live,” Beca comments with a smirk.

“Look at that I have,” Chloe giggles. “I guess I’ll have to consider this second date then.”

“Second date? I like the sound of that,” Beca says. “And on which date is kissing allowed?”

“Since you asked I’d say your chances for the first date are pretty high,” Chloe mumbles brushing her hand across Beca’s.

“Really?” Beca asks as she leans forwards in the direction of the older girl.

Chloe smiles and with the nod of her head Beca closes the gap between them. She pulls away a moment later, smiles plastered on both of their faces. A catcall from across the parking lot pulls their attention away from each other and once Beca recognizes the hollering of none other than Luke himself she promptly flips him off while Chloe laughs in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that guys...no slow taunting here cuz I've got some other things in store ;)
> 
> You should listen to the wonders that is Foliage and Acid Ghost here ya go http://foliagemusic.bandcamp.com/releases  
> http://acidghostsf.bandcamp.com/album/vacation-ii
> 
>  
> 
> Personally Acid Ghost is also my fave and my most frequently played jams  
> Also if you live in the LA area totally check out The Smell...I'm jealous that you have access to such a wonderful place


	6. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a lil note about the coming chapters

Hey all just a little author's note to reassure some readers and such 

Basically I am like hella busy and also dealing with some serious writer's block. As of yesterday, July 1st, I've started chapter 6 and it is well under way. I leave on July 13th for a touring trip in Germany for two weeks. I just wanted to take the time to say that while this break has been long since my last update it will definitely be worth the wait. I hope to have two-three proper updates for you guys before I leave. After which there will be another two week break (most likely unless I find some free time and inspiration while I am away). For which I apologize but know that it'll be well worth it when the updates start coming in after that. I have a feeling this vacation is exactly what I'm going to need to really get my gears going and resparking some currently dying flames. 

 

So, yeah. Expect a mass of updates sometime in the next week and a half before I leave. And if ya wanna encourage me with messages that would be great cuz those really do help me. I'll be here painting some trim today and then writing in between coats. My goal is to have some chapters prewritten and to space them out over the next week or so before I leave. So, yeah, hope y'all are having a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all soon on the next proper update

much love and good vibes, nk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can message me at my tumblr if you wanna help kick me into shape @noahsthetic
> 
> I'll be taking this author's note/chapter down once the real next chapter makes it's way online


	7. Hesitance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapters are kind of becoming my thing for this story apparently....kind of like James Patterson esque in that way. Wanted to get this bit out there before I go away and there will be more updates to come shortly after my return.

**Beca (10:32 am):** Hey, how are you today?

**Beca (11:49 am):** I hope you had fun last night

**Beca (3:57 pm):** Are my messages going through?

 

Chloe sighed as she put her phone face down on the counter and turned her attention back to the computer screen she was typing away at to fill book requests. It’s not that she was ignoring Beca it’s that she was actively deciding not to answer her. Okay...so maybe that’s ignoring someone but Chloe was just trying to make her feel better about her decision to screen Beca’s texts. If she was being honest with herself there really was no reason she shouldn’t answer other than her own fear and hesitance of putting herself in the position that she was going to wind up in if she continued further. And it really wasn’t a position that she wanted to put herself or Beca into. 

By the time her shift at the library had ended she was able to calm herself down and had concluded that it was going to be for the best to ignore Beca and pretend like it never happened. Except clearly Beca wasn’t going to let that happen so easily. 

“Screening my texts?” Beca questions with a smirk. Chloe hesitates for a moment but eventually walks over to where Beca is leaning against the wall with two to go cups. “Coffee?”

“Sure,” Chloe replies taking the cup with a shy smile.

“Is this a confirmation that you were, in fact, screening my texts? Or were you just so busy at the library all day that you didn’t have time to answer,” Beca kids around finally pushing herself off the wall and standing upright in front of the other girl. 

“So I may have ignored your texts,” Chloe says. 

“Did I overstep last night? Did you not have fun?”

“No, no,” Chloe rushes to ease her. “I had a lot of fun. It was great, honestly.”

“Then why the cold shoulder?”

Chloe sighs gesturing for the other girl to join her as she walks down the street. They walk almost in time with each other until Chloe finally speaks up. 

“My life is complicated and I don’t want to get you wrapped up in it,” Chloe finally says.

“That’s all? Dude, my life is complicated too.”

“I know but mine is different. It’s just not easy to be involved with me,” Chloe mumbles as they cross the street.

“Not easy? You work in a library, presumably you live alone and your known enough that you get invited to over the top New Year’s Eve parties. If that’s a complicated life then I’m living in pure hell,” Beca says with a chuckle. 

“Things are not always quite what they seem, Beca.”

“I’m sorry. I, of all people, should know not to judge. Listen, if you’re willing to give this a try I would really like to give it a go. I want to be able to get to know you and your life regardless of any complications or strings in it,” Beca blurts out between sips of her black coffee. 

“I think you’re going to regret saying that,” Chloe decides.

“And I think that you’re wrong.”

Chloe lets out a long sigh, “I don’t know about that but…”

“But you’re willing to try?”

“Only because you’re so persistent. And you know where I work,” Chloe giggles, pointing an accusing finger at the younger girl. 

“I doubt that’s really why like you could resist this,” Beca responds gesturing towards herself with a playful smirk. 

Both of them burst out laughing at Beca’s sheer level of cockiness but once they settle Chloe turns to her as they walk down the street. “Are you free now?”

“Of course,” Beca says with a smile. 

“Good. Let’s grab some takeout and your car. I’ll drive,” Chloe decides with a smirk that Beca easily matches while nodding in response. 

\--

“So, where are you taking me exactly?”

“Somewhere that you’ve never been before,” Chloe replies mimicking Beca from the other day with a smile. Beca glares at her in response before she continues. “We’re going to a place someone showed me a few years ago. It’s a special place.”

“Should I worry?” Beca asks throwing herself back into the passenger seat dramatically. 

“Nope,” Chloe pops turning up the radio. “Just sit back and let me do the driving.”

“How far is this place?”

“Not far,” Chloe responds as she takes a turn off the main road. 

“Are you sure I shouldn’t worry? Because you just pulled onto a dirt road and that’s a little concerning to me,” Beca steadily questions.

“There’s no reason to worry, Becs,” Chloe laughs. “I told you it’s a special place. One that I don’t think many people go to hence why there’s no actual paved road to it.”

“Right, okay. Well it better not be too far because this Chinese food is gonna get cold fast,” Beca says concern laced in her voice. Concern clearly directed towards the food getting cold and what an absolute horror that would be.

“I think it’ll last another two minutes,” Chloe says maneuvering the car around a dirt bend leading towards an incline. 

Beca sits back and remains silent for the rest of the very short trip. She manages to sit there and watch Chloe as she drove the younger girl’s car up and around a dirt hill. It definitely wasn’t a path people seemed to take regularly which was somewhat alarming but at the same time LA was filled with paths like that. Before she knew it Chloe had pulled the car to a stop and was getting out of the car, Chinese food in hand. 

“Is this it?” Beca asks looking around a desolate dirt lot at the top of a small mountain of sorts. “What’s so special about a dirt lot?”

“It’s not the dirt lot that makes it special,” Chloe pauses leaning back against the hood of the car, her gaze drifting to the sky. “It’s almost sunset. You’ll see soon.”

“Okay, weirdo. Let’s eat our food then and wait,” Beca replies, her stomach grumbling with desire. 

Beca made her way to the hood of the car wasting no time to ungracefully get on top of the hood of her car and settle down. Chloe, laughing, passed the food to the younger girl and climbed up next to her far more gracefully than the other. Once the food was split between the two they sat in relative silence as the sun finally started to set. For once, Beca was actually appreciating the view that she was brought to and she was starting to see what Chloe meant by special. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you like it at my new tumblr dedicated to writing and fandoms (mostly just bechloe) writingkeeglsy.tumblr.com
> 
> Also that's a place you can harass me to write more and keep up to date on updates in progress and writing and all the fun stuff


	8. Hesitance Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Chapter 7: Hesitance

“I’m taking you to a special place that I found.”

“Alek, you know I hate surprises.”

“And that is precisely why I’m surprising you,” he said, with a cheeky smile spreading across his face. 

“Seriously,” she grumbled, arms crossed, sporting a pout that nearly tricked Alek into believing it. 

“I know you’ll love it,” he reassures, taking her hand and continuing to lead her around a bend up the hill. “Seriously, you’re going to love this surprise.”

“I don’t know about that. I never like anything that’s a surprise.”

“Well, I think that’s about to change, even for just this once. You’ll see.”

“Alek, seriously where are you taking me?” she whines practically stomping her feet in detest. 

“We’re almost there,” he reassures, running a few feet ahead of her and through a clearing of tall weeds. “Just walk through and follow my voice.”

“Really? This better be something real special,” she grumbles, staring in disgust at the weeds. 

“C’mon, hon. Just walk through and you’ll see what I’m seeing. And let me tell you it is quite worth a moment of walking through weeds taller than I am,” he coaxes from the other side. He hears her take a long sigh followed by a shuffling of weeds, “Alright, just a few more steps.”

“Alek, I swear if this is some,” she cuts off her words the second she steps out into the open area, her thought process instantly lost the second she sees the sky. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s incredible,” she replies, simply dumbfounded by the sunset before her. The wonderful array of oranges and pink swirling through the sky above a large town. 

“I knew you’d love it,” Alek responds smugly. 

All she muster up in reply is a simple nod of her head and Alek takes it as a sign to stop talking and just appreciate the sunset. So he throws himself onto the hard ground and cranes his neck towards the sky. It takes another minute or two before she can do the same but eventually she makes it onto the ground next to Alek. 

“Thank you for taking me here,” she says finally, Alek’s arm wrapping around her shoulder and holding her close. “It’s stunning.”

“You’re welcome. I just knew, the first time I came here, that I’d have to bring you here,” he explains with a kiss to the temple of her head. 

“It really is. I’ll definitely come back here again.” 

\--

And come back she did. 

She came back a few months after that with Alek the day he proposed to her. And again when they found out she was pregnant. Many months after that, just after Albie’s first birthday, she went again, alone this time. It was the day after Alek was hospitalized and mere hours after he was declared dead. That night she witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets she had ever seen. So many shades of pink, purple and orange were swirling through the sky, mixing in with the clouds floating by and even when the sky became dark and the stars dominated the sky, she remained. 

And since that night, she made a promise to herself to bring Albie there every year, make a tradition out of it. Which she did and he loved it just as much as she did and looked forward to going there with his mother. But ever since she started to travel and forget about what her life used to be like, when she could actually be herself, she had stopped going to the lot to watch the sunset. She hadn’t been back in decades...until tonight, that is. 

\--

When she got in the car with Beca she didn’t even know where she was going to bring her. Subconsciously she knew it would be to the lot but she didn’t want to fully admit to herself that that’s what she was doing. She knew what bringing Beca to the lot meant to her. She was terrified of that but she let her subconscious lead her down the still familiar path, the conversation with Beca about not liking surprises, taking her back to the first time she had gone there with Alek. It was a bittersweet feeling to revisit those first moments in the lot and to be, almost, replacing them with this moment with Beca. 

Deep down she knew that Alek would be so happy to see that she came back here again, this time, with someone new. Someone that, obviously, was making at least a bit of an impact on her life. She knew that he was smiling up there, wherever he is. And picturing that smile brought tears to her eyes and a smile to her face. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Chloe says, brushing the tears from eyes with a chuckle. “I just have some really good memories here.”

“Oh,” Beca replies, turning her attention back to the sky. “It truly is beautiful here.”

“It is,” Chloe mumbles, blindly poking at her takeout container hoping to get some food between her chopsticks without having to tear her eyes away from the sky. It was one of the more stunning sunsets tonight and in a weird way, Chloe knew this was some kind of sign. 

“Do you come here often?”

“Not really,” the older girl admits, then taking a bite of sesame chicken. “When I was younger, I did. But I haven’t been back in a long, long time.”

“Oh, I see,” Beca mumbles between bites of her own food. “How’d you find this place?”

“Someone very special to me brought me here long ago. Just something that he found and knew I would love,” Chloe explains, a nostalgic smile on her face as she thinks back to that night. 

“So, that’s what you meant by special place?”

“Kind of,” she replies, her smile falling away. “I’ve been here a few times with him and, uh, someone else too. They loved to come watch the sunset here.”

“I can see why,” Beca cuts in, her voice soft. “It truly is beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Chloe mumbles, looking back out to the sky with teary eyes. Immediately Beca leans back onto the hood of the car, having abandoned her carton of food, leaning into Chloe just enough so that they were touching. And they remained like that, watching the sunset, until the sun could no longer be seen and the stars were slowly making their way to being visible.

\--

“So, will I see you again or are you just going to disappear on me again?” Beca asks as she pulls the car over in front of Chloe’s apartment building. “I mean, you did show me where you live, so you’ll be much easier to track down this time.”

“I hardly think that will be necessary,” Chloe giggles. “But it’s good to know you won’t let me go  _ that _ easy.”

“Yeah,” Beca mumbles, her smile fading slightly. “Thank you for tonight.”

“It was my pleasure. I should be thanking you for trusting me to begin with,” Chloe responds, looking off into the dark. 

“Maybe I’ll see you soon?” 

“Um, actually, if you’d like, you could drive around the corner up there,” the older girl says pointing up ahead. Beca shifts her attention from the redhead to the road and oddly feels the need to comply. “And another right here.”

“Apparently me trusting you comes really easily,” Beca chuckles as Chloe guides her into a parking lot. “But where exactly are we?”

“I figured we could use a drink,” Chloe replies simply, hopping out of the car before Beca has even turned off the ignition. 

“There’s no bars around here,” Beca comments dumbly, instantly realizing her mistake. “Yeah, I know, I’m an idiot.”

Chloe beams back at her, “Well, you’re an adorable idiot so I think it’s okay.”

“I’d hope so,” Beca says, following closely next to Chloe as she leads them through the dark lot and towards the back of her building. 

“Now, don’t be totally dumbfounded when we get to my floor, okay?” 

“Why would I be totally dumbfounded?” Beca asks as they step into the elevator. She watches as the older girl hits the button for the top floor and, she can’t lie, her eyebrow shoots up a little bit.

“I just have a feeling,” Chloe says, her gaze fixed on the elevator doors as they make their way up. All the way up. And when the doors open to a bland hallway with two doors, Beca isn’t sure why she would be so dumbfounded. 

“And I’m waiting to prove this _feeling_ wrong,” Beca laughs, trailing behind her as she makes her way toward the door, key in hand. 

“Well, good luck,” Chloe replies as she throws the door open and leads the younger girl inside. 

Before Beca has even made her way fully through the doorway her jaw is already dropping. The second she realizes this, however, she closes her mouth shut and nervously fixes her hair to cover up her shock. As if that would really work in the slightest. Chloe closes the door and leans against it as Beca makes her way around the very spacious apartment. The far wall is an overlook onto the city and, to put it simply, stunning and awe worthy. The living room is a mass of beautiful leather furniture and a large flat screen against the wall. The rest of the apartment is adorned with photographs from around the world and if Beca didn’t know any better she would think that they were taken by Chloe herself. It simply would take far too much time for one person to travel to all of these places, not to mention that some of these photos seemed to have been taken generations ago. If she had to admit one thing it’s that Chloe has great taste. 

“Are you done ogling at my decor and ready for wine?” Chloe asks hesitantly from where she’s sat on the couch, two glasses of wine in hand, one already half empty.

“Oh, right,” Beca replies quickly scampering over to the other girl and ungracefully plopping down next to her. 

“Such grace for someone so small,” Chloe chuckles. 

“Hey!” Beca yelps, “I take offense to that. And you’re only a couple inches taller than me!” 

“Those couple inches sure make the difference. Far more grace than you, Becs,” Chloe replies, taking another sip of wine. 

“If you weren’t so cute and honest I would fight you on this. But you’re offering me wine so I have to be nice,” Beca grumbles taking a large, of course ungraceful, sip of wine. “And you have good taste in wine, great.”

“Hmm?”

“Right, I said that aloud,” Beca whispers, clearly backtracking her thoughts. “You have a wonderful taste in wine and well, decor and travel, too. And basically everything.”

“Thank you,” Chloe smiles. “Someone gets awfully chatty after wine.”

“Please, I’ve only had one sip. You haven’t seen anything yet,” Beca smirks. 

“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you’re insisting on getting drunk and seeing who can hold their liquor better,” Chloe insinuates, a smirk growing on her face, because let’s be real that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. 

“I mean, I already have ingested alcohol, so it would be totally irresponsible of you to let me drive home,” Beca coaxes, taking another sip of wine. 

“I would never be irresponsible like that,” Chloe insists, throwing her arms up pretending to take offense to such an accusation. 

“But you would be irresponsible enough to get drunk with me in the middle of the week?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, Chlo,” Beca tsks pouring her another glass of wine and topping off her own. “I think I could drink you under a table.”

“Oh, you’re so on, Mitchell.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am ridiculously sorry for disappearing I've been in a bit of a creative and mental rut and it's been very difficult for me to write and basically do anything I really enjoy doing. On that note I will try to update as best as I can but I will be following this story (and one more) fully through. Thank you for sticking with me through this and sorry you've had such a long wait 
> 
> On which note I have a tumblr dedicated to writing which you can come encourage me on or talk to me about this story or the other one in the works (and pls do cuz I'll love you forever and it drives me to write more) on writingkeegsly.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> So...how do you like it? Let me know below or
> 
> Feel free to hit me up on tumblr and talk about it noahsthetic.tumblr.com


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